The support that the Kasthurba Nagar Residents Association have received for their month-long waste segregation campaign is highly encouraging.
From June 9, households at First, Second and Third Main Roads at Kasthurba Nagar, Adyar, have been segregating solid waste. Now, residents from Seventh and Eighth Main Roads and a few others from Fourth and Fifth Main Roads have joined.
Through this campaign, the Association aims to dispense with the huge bins found on the roads, in another two months. In addition, the Association is conducting talks with Greater Chennai Corporation towards setting up a composting unit. At present, 1,300kg biodegradable waste and 500kg recyclable waste are generated from Kasthurba Nagar every day.
“Plans are afoot to send the collected degradable waste to the composting unit at MRC Nagar or any other unit nearby until a composting unit is set up at Kasthurba Nagar,” says Janani Venkatesh, a resident.
The Association recently organised a three-hour programme for conservancy staff and domestic helpers to create awareness about the importance of segregating waste and the hazards of using polythene covers. These participants got to learn about how many waterbodies have turned into landfills and about factors that led to the flooding of the city in December 2015.